Scarlet Vendetta
by Medi-EXE
Summary: This story takes place a while after the Anime's OVAs, after Kurapika went after the Ryodan. This is my take on how the protagonist, Kurapika, finds his people's Eyes and attains the peace he was searching for. Full summary inside. Enjoy. Kurapika x OC.
1. Author's Notes

**Author's comment:** This is my first attempt with a Hunter x Hunter story. I have already finished a few chapters ahead, and depending on how the feedback is, I might upload the following chapters. This is my take on how Kurapika finds his people's eyes. The story takes place after the anime's York new City's arc, when Kurapika changes from the kind character to the revenge-only, serious, tough guy type.

**Important note:** I am well aware that Neon Nostrade has lost her ability to read the future. I saw all the anime there is to see of Hunter x Hunter, and I'm also following the 2011 re-make that has been going out. I know that fact, but I needed to get a plausible excuse for Kurapika to leave his current body-guard position and start his journey, and it was the best that I could come up with. There is no need to comment that she no longer has her ability, because I know that.

That being cleared; please do enjoy my new story and tell me what you think with a review. ^^

**Hunter x Hunter (c) Yoshihiro Togashi**

**All future OCs (c) Me****di-chan**


	2. Chapter 1: Dreaming Awake

**Chapter 1 – Dreaming Awake**

_A shadow stands alone in its lonely misery. The same shadow is standing in the middle of nowhere, not moving from where it stands, at a few feet from him. At first, he wondered if it was his own shadow, gawking at him like a prey, but he soon discovered that it wasn't. In this dream, he has no shadow. He tries to analyze the strange thing, as he knows he is currently in a dream. This shadow has no shape, but somehow he feels that it is a person who is there. Or something along those lines. He tries to analyze the surroundings, but there are none. Everything is pitch black around him, except for him and the shadow. This is the same dream that has been in his mind for quite a while. He finds nothing particular about it. There is no reckonable trace that can help him to understand this dream. When he tries to reach out to the shadow, because that's the only thing he can recall to do, it starts to run away as soon as he moves. The last thing he sees is the burning clarity of an intense fire, overshadowing everything in his sight. Its color is scarlet, which makes his heart pound faster when he wakes up and recalls once more what that color means to him._

"Kurapika, are you alright?" Neon's cheery voice brings him back from his thoughts. "You look like you're troubled by something." She comments.

"I am fine." The blonde replies with a serious nod, as he looks to the side. "It is just a dream that has been haunting me for the past few days." He explains.

"Oh." The teen held her chin, as if she were thinking. "In that case, I'll read you your fortune. Maybe you'll find something that might help you."

"No, no. Neon-sama, you don't have to-" he hesitated.

"But I want to." She insisted. "Write here your name, age and blood type." Neon handed him a piece of paper. When he didn't take it, she insisted again. "Go on, go on." she said, cheerfully.

".. If you insist, then." He took the paper after a moment with a sigh.

"Lovely Ghostwriter!" the pink-haired girl said with a smile as she twirled her writing pen around her fingers after having received the paper.

As the days passed by, he found that he didn't know how to figure out what his dream means. There is nothing about it that is specific enough to come up with any conclusions. It always starts and ends the same way. He suddenly finds himself in the middle of pitch black with that shadow and when he moves, it runs and everything turns scarlet just before he wakes up. For the moment, Kurapika was to look after Neon, the fortune-teller daughter of one of the Mafia bosses. Eliza was gone when she found out that Suqwala had been murdered while trying to reach the group. The kimono-dressed lady quit her job as soon as she found out and took off, with her lover's dogs following her. That didn't seem to faze the boss in the slightest, as he had already replaced both the maid and the bodyguard with new ones in the matter of a week. Neon continued to do her fortune-telling to her father's clients and to go shopping pretty much every day. Today had been one of those days. The party had just arrived at the mansion after the daughter's shopping spree had finally subsided. She had been upset for a while because her father had yet again broken another promise of bringing her a new treasure, so the bodyguards had taken her shopping to ease the girl's mind. Kurapika mused over this as he watched her eye color became empty and dull. Dull just like his eyes had become. No sooner than two seconds, the girl's hand began writing in the paper, below his handwriting.

"_What was once a grand scarlet garden is now a gray wasteland._

_Utter silence and soothing quietness has reached the ruin._

_A forlorn shadow stands in the middle of a clear field._

_At the roots from which you were born is a treasure to be found._

_Seek out the tree of beginnings,_

_in the garden where you once played._

_There, you will stumble upon something precious._

_Keep your findings, you shall need them._

_Aware must you be at all times,_

_What you find might be taken from you._

_Journey anew awaits you,_

_to find the gazes of those equal to you."_

Kurapika's eyes widened as he read the paper that was handed to him. At first, the girl's poems didn't seem to make any sense to him, but then he started to think well about it. 'Scarlet garden' could only mean the Kurta Clan site. The shadow part must be related to his dream. Now with the 'treasure to be found', he began to think that he was supposed to find something. Maybe what he needed to find would be located where his Clan perished. He tried to find a connection from his dream to the fortune, and somehow everything started to make sense inside his mind. All the little pieces and what he didn't know and what he were yet to discover. Maybe if he were to return to where he was born, he would find the answers he was looking for. Maybe he would find why that same dream kept haunting him night after night.

"This is.." he began, still looking at the paper.

"Was it accurate?" she asked while choosing one of her stuffed animals with her usual expression.

"Yes, it was." He could only nod his head. "Very accurate, indeed."

"Ah, that's good, then. I haven't lost my ability." She smiled while holding her stuffed animal and sat down over a large sofa.

"You sure haven't, Neon-sama." Kurapika made a small smile before continuing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to-"

"If there is somewhere you need to go," Neon interrupted him. "You can go, you know?"

"Neon-sama..." the blonde could only blink. "I can't do that. My job is to look after you. I was hired by your father to-"

"But you want to go." The girl said suddenly, cutting him off again. "I can see it in your eyes. This is something you need to do to attain peace."

"I-"

"Plus, I'll be fine. Here at home, with all the security and people walking around, nothing can reach at me." She continued. "And plus, Papa is on a trip somewhere and I'm sure he'll take a while to get back, so he'll never know you left. You can go."

".. Understood." He said after a moment. "If you'll excuse me, then."

"See you soon." She smiled before turning to her new maids.

As Kurapika closed the living room's wooden door, he could listen to the young boss asking the servants to play the card game Doubt with her. It somehow reassured him to know that his current boss was going to be alright. Now he would be able to move forward and find his people's eyes. That was probably the 'treasure' he needed to find. Perhaps there were some pairs hidden around. He recalled that there was a small forest close to where he used to live. Maybe, during the attack, someone was able to escape and hid there for all the following years. Now that he thought it over more carefully, it was quite possible. Even so, he tried not to get his hopes too high. It was more likely that he would find more ruins, dust and ashes than clues for his answers. For starters, he would just go there. If he, indeed, were to find anything buried in the remains of his Clan, then he would continue to look for the eyes. If he found nothing, then he would return to his current job for the moment. As he walked down one of the mansion's many corridors, he crossed ways with someone else.

"Ah, Senritsu." He greeted as he stopped walking.

"Such a calm melody." His partner said with a gentle tone of voice.

"Eh?" he blinked.

"Your heart. Its melody is calm and soothing, quite different from its distressed tune in the past days." She continued. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Yes." He nodded with a small understanding smile. "There is something very important that I need to do."

"I understand. We will be fine here. If you ever need our support someday, just let me know. With all you've done for the boss, I'm sure he won't mind us helping you." Senritsu said, also with an understand smile.

"Thank you." He nodded again. "Farewell."

"See you soon." Senritsu watched him off with a calm wave of her arm.

As Kurapika walked towards the main entrance of the mansion, he would wave goodbye to whoever would pass by him. He didn't feel the need to say goodbye to everyone as he was sure that everybody would know that he was gone as soon as he would walk past the door. When he stepped out of the mansion's main gates to the outside, Kurapika felt a sudden wave of relief washing through him. It was as if he just had a massive weight off his shoulders. He then realized that he had been dreaming awake for some time. Ever since he had taken this job, it was as if he was on auto-pilot and had just awakened from his deep slumber. Working his way to the top and even earning the boss's trust. Those details were necessary for his job to be successful, but it wasn't what he had wanted in the first place. It was as if he had almost forgotten one of the main reasons he had become a Hunter for. Catching the Phantom Troupe was just as important to him as finding all of his people's eyes and returning them to where they could finally rest in peace. Those were his goals. Right now, he had a small chance of starting to solve one of them, so he would get to it. To get to the village where he was born, he had to take a 3-hour flight plane and a 15-hour train ride. It was somewhat convenient that his job location wasn't all that far from a bus station. From there, he would go to the airport and take the first flight to Branne. Once there, he would take the direct train to the Lukso Province. From there, it wouldn't take him too long to reach the site where it all happened. He felt slightly nervous to be aware that he was going to return somewhere that would be most likely empty. Even so, he was doing it. The fortune said so, and knowing how Neon's fortune-telling was always 100% accurate, he had no other choice. He would start looking there, and hopefully he would find something relevant.

"Well, then.." Kurapika said to himself, looking forward to the road before him. "Let's get to it." with that, he began walking.

**End of chapter 1**


	3. Chapter 2: Return to Neverland

**Chapter 2 – Return to Neverland**

_A shadow stands alone in a clear field. Upon better check, he realizes that it is his own shadow that he was looking at for the past moments. This is a different dream, he sees. No, perhaps it is the continuation of the dream he always had. Now that he was moving forward, maybe so was the dream, along with him. He looks around and notices the beginning of a forest on one side and a clear green-yellow-ish field on the other side. He looks from one side to the other, but eventually he decides to go towards the forest. It is as if he's not even able to control his own body. He's just watching as his legs move, one foot after the other. Odd thing about dreams. Sometimes you feel like you're not controlling your own body, like your brain is asleep. That's how he felt, like his brain was sleeping and he was awake. As he walks towards the forest, he senses something poking at his palm. He stops walking. Upon looking downwards, to his left side, he notices that the field reaches his waist. The green-yellow-ish plants brush against his hand, nudging him to continue walking, but he remains quiet for the moment. He decides to look upwards now. There is no sun, just a clear blue, blue sky. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in. The sight, the sounds, the smells; all of them seem so familiar, but he's not able to place them. He recalls that he used to play in the same fields when he was young, but he knows that this field has nothing to do with the one from his memories. Maybe it was his sleeping brain playing a trick on him. He decides to continue walking towards the forest. Unconscious of his own actions, he begins to walk faster. Faster to the point that he's dashing through the trees. He doesn't know why he began running, but something in him told him to do so. As he ran, he felt something in the back of his head. There is something out there. No. There is someone out there, just close by. He doesn't know how, but he knows that if he continues to run, he'll find it. It's important, he can tell, because his heart began pounding faster and not because he was running. Just as he was thinking of what it could be that he was going to find, he stumbles across a clear area in the middle of the forest. At least, he thinks it's the middle of the forest. When he looked around, he saw the empty clear field and trees. He noticed that the clear area was circular, surrounded only by the same trees. He looks around again, now spotting something else. There seems to be someone sitting in the middle of the clear area, over a patch of dark-green clovers; quite a mismatch against the yellow-white field around it. Upon better check, the person has their back facing him, so he's not able to see their face. He tries to step closer to the person, but it seems that as much as he walks, he isn't able to shorten the distance between them._

"_Who are you?" ah, his voice is there. He surprised himself, as he wasn't aware that he could speak in his dream._

_At the sound of his voice, the figure stood up. The person has long blonde hair. Blonde just like him, and they are wearing blue and white clothes, but he's not able to tell exactly that part. The figure tilted to the side, but as soon as they moved, a rush of wind began blowing. Again, he tried to get closer, but failed. He tried to call out again, but his voice didn't work. Fortunately to him, the figure began shifting themselves towards him, but when their face was just turning around towards him…_

"Excuse me, may I see your tickets, please?" the reviser asks politely from the other side of the door with a knock.

".. Sure." Kurapika blinks once before straightening himself on his seat.

"Excuse me, then." The door opens itself and the reviser walks in.

The first thing he sees is the blonde's ticket and Hunter license card. Kurapika could tell that the man wasn't expecting that, because he was blinking and just staring at his items. He wasn't going to wait for the man's brain to reboot itself, so he spoke up to speed up the process.

"I thought I needed to present my License card as a form of identification. Aren't you going to check?" Kurapika said firmly.

"Uh, yes… may I?" the reviser nods as he takes both items. After a moment, he speaks again. "Yes, I confirm its authenticity. Thank you very much, Mr. Hunter. Sorry to have bothered you. Please do enjoy the rest of your trip." The reviser said politely, before walking out and closing the door behind him, leaving Kurapika alone again.

Once alone again, the blonde let out a loud sigh. He settled himself on his seat again before looking out the window. He would be arriving at the Lukso Province soon enough. Once there, he would be walking. Reaching the site would take him a few hours, and those hours would be crucial to him. By the time he would get where he wanted, his thoughts and mind would have to be clear as crystal-clear water, because he knew that if they weren't, he wasn't too sure of what could happen. Going back to the place where he was born; where he played; where he lived; where he lost everything. It was probably going to be tough, but he had to do it. As Kurapika looked at the outside view, he recalled once more that fateful day, when his life changed forever.

**-Flashback-**

"_Mother! Father!"_

_A young Kurapika shouts away as he sees his village burning out. He tries, but he doesn't see anyone besides himself in the middle of that escalating fire. He had just left for a moment and when he returned, everything was burning; the houses, the playground where he played with his friends. Everything was a deep scarlet color. It was hot and he couldn't breathe well, but he still had to try to find someone, anyone. The attackers didn't seem to be in the area anymore. He runs around, carefully avoiding getting hit with the flames, but he still doesn't find anyone. Someone must have escaped. His parents were strong; he knew it; so they must have been able to escape. As he continued to run, he thought that he would be crying, but the temperature dried his tears as soon as they showed up in the corner of his eyes. As the time passes, he begins to realize he's all alone in the world, and that he had no one to lean to. All alone, with no one to understand him._

**-End flashback-**

_Attention all passengers. Attention, all passengers. We will be arriving at Chibama Station shortly. We will be arriving at Chibama Station shortly. Please watch your step as you descend the train and be sure to carry out your baggage with you. Thank you very much for using our trains and we hope to be of service again. Have a nice day. Attention all passengers…_

Kurapika let out another sigh as the lady's voice continued to speak. This was it. The first steps of his new journey. He wasn't sure and didn't know if it was because of the fortune, but he felt like he was going to be able to find something there. He had no idea where to start looking, but he was going to try.

_**-SV-**_

He had been walking for almost two hours. It wouldn't take too long to reach the site. He didn't mind walking, but Kurapika still wasn't able to clear his mind. What would he find once he got there? Ashes? Ruins of what his Clan once was? Maybe he wouldn't find anything other than despair and misery. Suddenly, his mind began to darken with all these kind of thoughts. What if he didn't find anything? Then, he made this entire trip for nothing. He had to find something, anything to help him continue the journey he just began. If he didn't find anything, then he had left his job for nothing as well. No. Stop thinking like that. It's okay to analyze the situations, but if he kept going with the negative thoughts, then he wouldn't be able to think straight. The blonde took a deep breath. And then another. When he looked forward again, his brain froze in the same moment. His feet automatically stopped moving. He just stood there, at the entrance of his village. Of what was left of his village. He had finally arrived to the place that he thought he would come back to only when he'd find all the eyes. This was it. Now get to it and start looking. Kurapika wasn't sure where he got his strength from, but he began walking again. As he did, his mind seemed to go blank. Not blank, it was in sponge-mode, verifying everything in hopes to get something relevant that could help him. He decided to enter a random scorched, burnt down house, and as he looked around, something felt odd, probably because he was returning, but he wasn't sure. Yes, something was definitely not right. As he passed through the house's living room –he thought it was the living room–, there was ash everywhere. There was no ceiling and the walls looked like they could come down with just a touch. He looked around again until- Wait. He took a step backwards and looked down. There was a footprint in the middle on the ashes. And it wasn't his. It was significantly smaller than his print. This could only mean that someone had been there before him. Kurapika crouched down and began analyzing the trace. Footprints in ash like this never lasted long, so it was obviously recent. He began wondering who could have stepped into his village. It was most likely goons trying to find riches, but goons didn't have such small feet, that he was sure of. Kurapika stood back up as he scratched the back of his head.

"Who could have come here?" he asked out loud, knowing that he was alone.

Moving back outside, he walked towards the village's main square. He recalled that there used to be a fountain there. He used to go get water for his parents when they asked him to. The blonde made a small smile as he remembered that. When he made a turn to change streets, his senses alerted him. A twig snapped somewhere. He would have paid no attention to it if he was somewhere else, but then he heard it again. Could it be goons lurking around somewhere? If it were, he'd be sure to kick them out of the village. When he heard a third twig snapping, he detected that the sounds came from the main square. Not thinking twice, Kurapika began dashing to the main area of the village. Who could it be? The thought lingered in his mind for a moment, but before he could think any further, the fountain was the first thing he began seeing. As soon as he stepped into the square, he stopped and looked around from the right to the left. When his field of vision reached the left side of the empty water fountain, he noticed someone crouching down with several twigs around them. He blinked. A person? He couldn't figure out what they could be doing there, but his brain decided to step in before he could process what to do next.

"Who are you?" he couldn't help but ask away.

When the person stood up and turned around, he saw. It was a… girl. She had blonde hair like him, but hers seemed to reach around her knees. Her eyes were also blue like his. She was wearing worn-out blue and white clothes. By the looks of it, the clothes had been ripped apart and sewn back together a few times. She was holding several twigs in her thin arms. So, those were the sounds he had heard before. As she looked back at him with the same bewildered expression that he carried, he found himself frozen again. He was expecting to find something, but not actually a person. She didn't seem to know what to do either. Most likely, she wasn't expecting to run into another unknown person either. Then, the girl seemed to have snapped as well. It was as if she was just nudged by something. She suddenly looked around and then dropped all the twigs to the floor. No sooner than two seconds, she darted off in the opposite direction that he was standing from.

**End of chapter 2**


	4. Chapter 3: Nina, the Survivor

**Chapter 3 – Nina, the Survivor**

"Wait!"

Kurapika wasn't sure why he was chasing this girl, but something in him told him to do so. Fortunately for him, he knew this forest like the back of his hand, because he had played in it for so long, so he knew where he should dodge a branch or when to skip a jump. This girl seemed to know her ways as well. She was just as agile as he was. She was fast, too. He estimated that it was probably because she was living around the area for a while. It was hard to tell if she was also from his Clan, but lots of people are blonde with blue eyes, and supposedly he was the sole survivor. Once he'd catch up with her, he would ask her properly. As he continued to chase her, he noticed that there was a clearing coming up ahead, where she was running towards. When he saw a wooden cottage, he slowed down gradually, until he just stood there, a few feet away from the house's porch. He couldn't help but analyze the place. The cottage looked like it had at least 50 years old, maybe even more, but he couldn't tell. The wood was incredibly well taken care of, as were several patches of flowers around the front. He guessed that there were also flowers in the back.

"Go away. I know why you're here." the girl spoke.

"_Why I'm here?"_ he asked himself as he blinked.

Kurapika watched as she turned towards him with a serious-like expression. It was then that he was finally able to take a good look at her. Her eyes were a deep blue tone, like the ocean, and her long hair was a golden yellow color, and it reminded him of the sun. He blinked again, as he continued to look at her. The girl, on the other hand, was slightly panting and noticed that this person hadn't even broken a sweat, unlike her, who was covered in it. She was agile and could run as much as she wanted, but with someone chasing after her, she got stressed and tired quicker. And this person had been the only one who was able to keep up with her. Normally, she lost the intruders in the middle of her running, but this one no. They kept following her, and it made her somewhat impressed. Even so, she would not be fazed by this individual. She noticed that the person was still staring at her. Strangely, they did not do anything against her, unlike all the others, but even still, she had to push them away.

"You're here to fool me into thinking that you're from my clan, the Kurta Clan."

He gasped when she said 'Kurta Clan'. So she was a survivor as well. He wanted to step closer, but he was sure that she would turn around and run back inside and shut him out for good, before he even had a chance to explain himself. When he was going to try to speak, she cut him off.

"But I know it well. I am the only survivor, and I have been living here ever since that.. that time." the girl's voice wavered for a moment, but she got herself together quickly. "You're just like all the others. They also tried to fool me. They dressed like you are and tried to convince me into going with them. But I am not going anywhere. Not with you or with anyone else!"

With that, she turned around and moved to open the front door to her house. He had to stop her. He had to speak up, and tell her the truth. By the way this was going, he was almost sure that she wouldn't give him a chance to say anything anytime soon.

"No, wait!" Kurapika tried to reason with her. "I am a survivor as well. I've been traveling to become a Hunter, so that's probably why you've never seen me."

The girl said nothing, nor did anything against his words of explanation, and so, he continued. He took about two steps closer to the cottage, but then she shifted her head to the side and he stopped himself. At least, she was listening, so he would continue.

"I never thought that there could be any other survivors other than me." He continued. "After the fire subsided and the thieves left, I tried to look for people, but I found no one, so I left."

"I see you've done your homework." The girl said, unimpressed with his words.

"I give you my word. I'm telling you the truth!" he said back. "But if you are really a survivor as well, where were you? I tried to search for anyone who could still be alive." He couldn't help but ask.

"I was…" the girl's voice had a sad tone to it. ".. Are you really from my Clan too?" she asked as she turned around towards him again.

Once more, He froze in that place. Her expression wasn't an angry one anymore. Not that he felt any anger from her from the start. He could tell from the beginning that she was just trying to look menacing to push him away. He could also tell that this was her real shell. Her expression showed sadness. He didn't say anything, but he felt sorry for her. She must have lived alone all these years in that house behind her. Unaware, he took another step closer to the porch. It was the wrong thing to do. She suddenly frowned and took a step backwards. She moved her right hand to hold the doorknob.

"What is behind me?" she asked.

"Eh?" he blinked.

"If you can figure that out, then I'll speak to you again."

With that, she turned around and entered the cottage, locking the door tightly behind her. Kurapika cursed between his teeth. He shouldn't have moved. And he still couldn't prove her that he was also from the Clan. It was getting dark, so he had to sleep somewhere close to a tree. In the following day he would show her. He was able to make his eyes turn scarlet out of his free will. When she'd see, she would believe him. For the moment, he would rest. As he leant down, the blonde felt something. He had an idea of what it could be, but then he used Gyo and looked towards the girl's house. It was giving him a few Nen readings, but they were weak. When he looked to the side, his eyes widened. All of the flowers, plants and smaller trees were covered with Nen. It was a warm, welcoming, green aura around the living beings outside the house, and it made his expression soften significantly. Just by looking at the plants, he could tell what she was talking about. He could also tell that she was clearly from his Clan as well. After a moment of pausing, he knew it. He would be giving the girl the correct answer on the following day.

**-SV-**

In the following morning, Kurapika woke up to a shuffling sound. Calmly opening his eyes, he noticed the girl from before. She was sweeping the dust off her porch. He didn't want to scare her away, so he got up gently, so that he wouldn't make any false moves. It wouldn't do him any good if she got scared and ran back inside, because he was still trying to speak with her. Even so, he knew how he could prove her that he also belonged to the Clan, even if she still hadn't given him any chance.

"Good morning." He greeted after having cleared his throat. He was cautious to remain a couple meters away from the stairs.

"Ah. You're still here." she seemed surprised. "They usually give up and leave."

"I won't. I'm not going anywhere." he spoke back. "Not until I can prove you that I belong to the Kurta Clan, just like you do."

His voice sounded serious and it made the girl stop sweeping. She looked down at Kurapika for a moment before she decided to speak again.

"Well, then." she said; leaning the broom against the front door. "What is behind me?" she made the same question as before.

"It is a Nen garden." Kurapika said without hesitating.

".. Why do you say so?" she descended the four steps and stood just about two meters away from him.

"By using your Nen abilities, you grew all the flowers around and behind your house. And I can tell that you're from the Kurta Clan because of that ability. I remember that some women possessed the same skills within them, even though most weren't even aware of it." The blonde explained.

"You're the first person to actually get it right." The girl spoke. "What's your name?"

"Eh?" the blonde blinked. He wasn't expecting that from her.

"Yes, your name." the girl said with a pout. "You do have a name, no?"

"Ah. I'm Kurapika." He smiled to the girl.

"Hm." Nina nodded her head. _"Is Kurapika a girl name or a boy name?"_ she asked herself. _"It would be really rude to ask because I can't really tell…" _she looked at the blonde for a moment.

"Hm?" he still smiled.

"_Girl. Kurapika's definitely a girl. Boys don't usually have such pretty faces anyways."_ she said to herself with another nod. "It's very nice to meet you, Kura. My name's Nina." She smiled brightly.

"Nina. That's a lovely name." Kurapika repeated and then smiled. _"Isn't Kura a… girly nickname?"_ he asked himself with an inside nervous chuckle.

"Ah, th-thank you." She looked down, slightly embarrassed. She wasn't used to listening to compliments.

A moment of silence stretched between the two as they gazed at each other. The pressure of the previous day was long gone. The girl was sure that nobody from outside of the Clan knew about an ability like hers, so if Kurapika knew about it, then it meant that the blonde was also natural from her village. Nina then recalled. Kurapika probably didn't have anything to eat last night, and now in the morning. She should offer her something. When she was going to ask the blonde if she wanted anything to eat, another voice caught both of their attentions.

"Ah, look at what I just found!" a rough voice spoke.

**End of chapter 3**


	5. Chapter 4: Beginning

**Chapter 4 – Beginning**

"Nina, get back inside." Kurapika said with a serious tone of voice.

"O-Okay." As soon as she turned around, she stopped. "Ah, Kura." She said.

Kurapika looked around and saw them. There was another goon behind them and yet another one close to the front door. They were surrounded. Kurapika could tell that there at least three more around them, possibly more hiding close by, in the forest.

"What do you want?" Kurapika demanded with a serious tone of voice.

"You see, we got this tip saying there was supposedly a Kurta Clan survivor living around this area, when they were all killed by that group of thieves." The goon in front of the two blondes spoke with a sly voice. He appeared to be the leader. "And apparently we were right to follow the tip."

"And our boss said he would give us a big fat reward if we got him that survivor for him." the goon behind them spoke.

"Yeah, he said she would be a great add to his collection." The one close to the door said.

"I'm pretty sure the boss's going to put her up in display next to those freaky red eye balls he already has." The goon behind them took a laugh.

Kurapika tensed. Red eye balls? It could only mean that that boss they talked about already possessed a pair of the eyes he was looking for. If it was true, then he had to get them back at all costs.

"And who would your boss be?" the blonde asked, looking from one goon to the other.

"Zenji." The 'leader' replied after a moment.

At that moment, all motions stopped. The birds ceased chirping; leafs stopped dancing along with the wind. A cold draft blew through each and every single goon, but it wasn't really the wind. It was coming from Kurapika and even the goons still inside the forest must have felt it. If they did, good for them; if they didn't, they would soon. So, that bald Capone guy he had broken the nose to was still holding a grudge against him. Clearly he hadn't taken the hint when he had passed by him in his altered mind state. Did people like that ever learn to give up? Apparently not. And now that Kurapika was almost on the verge of discovering a clue, that man wanted to take that something he had just found and… wait. Found?

"_At the roots from which you were born is a treasure to be found."_

Somehow, everything started to make sense inside his mind. The fortune-telling he received back at Nostrade's mansion. It was about her. What he needed to come back for was to find Nina. As realization dawned in his eyes, he almost missed the goons sneaking closer to the two of them. He also slipped slightly backwards, to get himself closer to her. Much to his luck, he felt her placing her palms over his back. Okay, she was close enough. He thought for the briefest of seconds that her warm palms against his back were quite soothing, but there was no time for such things. If it was really Nina that he had came back for, then he had to protect her with all he had, no matter what. He was sure that he was more than enough to deal with these thugs, but he didn't want do anything that could place her in danger. He noticed the leader of the goons stepping closer before speaking again.

"So, do us a favor, kid." The 'leader' spoke up. "Take a hike and we'll take the girl and do the same."

"Sorry, but that's not something that I can do." Kurapika replied, unveiling the Nen chains on his right hand. "She's staying with me."

His voice had a serious tone, but it did nothing to intimidate the enemy. Instead, they laughed. The one in front of them laughed first, whereas the others joined him. The blonde frowned and pointed his ring finger towards the thug.

"What do you think you'll be able to do with that little chain, kid?" he said, unsheathing a cut knife from his pocket.

"This." He replied quickly.

It was faster than Nina's eyes could possibly follow. In a second Kurapika and the man before them had taken a step forward and then the man was lying on the floor. She gasped in worry, hoping the man wasn't dead. She knew he was bad, yes, but she didn't wish any ill to him.

"Oi, you damn kid!" the goon behind them called out. The one close to the door joined him in a matter of seconds. "What did you do to our boss?" he asked.

"The same I will do to you if you don't leave right now." again, Kurapika's tone was serious.

As the male blonde turned around and placed himself before Nina, there was a notorious change in the thugs' expressions. Fear and rage overwhelmed the two as they stormed towards the two teens. Kurapika seemed calm enough, but Nina was beginning to panic. Much to the girl's worry, the two bad men stopped abruptly just a few steps before her new friend. She noticed how the men gradually got scared and took a few steps backwards with shaking hands.

"You are to leave this place now, and never return." Kurapika spoke. "Now go, before I change my mind." His tone of voice sounded like he could kill both of them.

There was a grunt sound, then a few curses. Kurapika gave them another look, which made the thieves finally take off. All the while, the two men kept looking behind their backs the entire time. When he was completely sure that nobody else was coming at them, Kurapika turned towards Nina, but she took a step backwards as soon as she saw his eyes.

"Ah, Kura, your eyes..!" the girl said as her eyes widened.

"Yes. I didn't know how I could prove to you that I am also from the Kurta clan, so it was rather convenient that those thugs showed up." Kurapika looked towards Nina with his scarlet eyes and a small chuckle. After a moment, they turned blue again.

"Well, I believed you when you told me about my Nen garden, so—oh, is something wrong with your hand?"

"Oh, this?" Kurapika held his left palm to reveal a small cut. "It's just a scratch. You don't have to worry about it." He had barely noticed it. It must have happened when the first thug stroke at him.

"No, I worry. If there's something wrong with someone and I know I can do something to fix them, I want to help." Nina said as she held his hand. "I can heal it."

"You don't have to. I can-"

"But I want to."

In the end, he decided to remain quiet as she began to focus. He felt both her warm palms holding his hand and, again, it felt soothing. Maybe it had something to do with her skill, he wasn't sure, but he somehow liked the feeling. But as good as the feeling might have been, he was not interested in developing it any further. There were things far more important to think about. Like catching the rest of the Ryodan and retrieving the eyes of his people.

"You have good skills." Kurapika said, examining his healed palm.

"Thanks, Kura." Nina smiled.

"_I don't mind the nickname, but.. isn't it too girly…? Does she.. think that I'm a girl? I can't just ask her that. If I'm wrong, I'd sound incredibly moron."_ again, he asked to himself with a sweat drop. "Nevertheless, I don't think that this location is safe anymore. It is too propitious for goon attacks." He commented.

"I know. That was the third attack this week alone. I only stayed here all this time because this is the only place I know, and because I can grow my flowers here. Granny used to love my flowers." Nina looked at her plants with a sad smile in her expression.

"Granny?"

"Yes. She took care of me after the fire." Nina explained with a solemn tone of voice. "I began living here with her when I found out that nobody else had escaped. She was very nice to me. When she passed away, I couldn't bring myself to leave, so I stayed here."

"I see. But, aren't you tired of staying here all alone? Don't you want to see more of the world?" Kurapika asked.

"I…" Nina paused. "I do want to see, but I don't know anything. Where would I go?"

"You can come with me. I would be happy to teach you." Kurapika suggested. "I'm currently in the beginning of a journey to find the eyes of our people that were stolen by the same troupe of thieves that murdered everyone."

"A journey, huh. It sounds like fun. Why did you return here, though?" she asked, curious.

"I guess I thought I could find something here that could help me find some kind of clue." He replied. And he had, indeed, found something.

"Okay. I think I'll go with you." Nina said with a nod. "I guess I should pack, right? Please come in, Kura." Nina said with a smile, motioning for Kurapika to enter the house.

Kurapika nodded his head and followed the girl inside. Once there, he closed the door behind him. It was actually the first time he had seen the inside of the cottage. It was incredibly warm-welcoming. Everything about the girl's house screamed kindhearted and charming. It was clean and well taken care of. The blonde looked around. Almost everything was made of wood. It all looked manmade, and he wondered if Nina had built any of the furniture. As he watched her roaming around what seemed to be a kitchen, he noticed her clothes again. He saw that the white trims looked quite worn out, and the blue tones were faded, probably due to too much washing. She must have been using that set for quite a while.

"Wait, Nina. Your clothes." He began.

"What about them?" Nina stopped and looked at herself.

"They're quite a mess." He shrugged slightly.

"Ah, um, y-yeah." she blushed, "Since I've been living in the forest, they got like this."

"Here." Kurapika pulled out of his bag one of his first outfits and handed it to her. It was his blue and red overshirt. "I don't use it anymore, so you can have it."

"Um, is it really okay?" Nina seemed unsure.

"It's perfectly fine." Kurapika made a small smile.

"A-Alright, then. Just until I buy another set of clothes for myself. Thank you. I'll get changed in a minute." Nina stated, taking the overshirt.

"Take your time. I'll be waiting here." he nodded and leaned against a sofa.

The blonde watched as the girl entered a room and closed the door behind her. It was most likely her quarters. As he waited for Nina to get changed, he began looking around, examining the girl's house. There were several bunches of flowers placed on several spots of the house; close to the windows, over the table, on the kitchen as well. Those were probably the weak Nen readings he saw the previous night. Over a counter he noticed several photos in dark wooden frames. He walked towards them and picked one up. He noticed that the photo was somewhat dark. Burnt on the corners. She must have gotten these after the fire had subsided. He had wanted to do the same, but he had found no pictures where his house was. She was lucky to have found a few memories. He calmly placed the frame back where it was and took another look around the girl's house. He then returned to the same spot he was before. There, he waited. Inside the room, Nina moved around while packing her things. She didn't have much, so she was rather quick. When she saw that her belongings were ready to go, she walked out of the room.

"Um, did I... put it on right?" she said with a meek voice as she exited her room.

When Kurapika turned around, he froze. Somehow the first thing he thought was that she looked like a female version of him. He shivered slightly at the thought and smiled at her. It was funny seeing someone else wearing his clothes, specially a girl. But it was just like she had said; it was until she bought another for herself.

"Yes, you got it right, Nina." He stated truthfully.

"Thanks."

Nina looked at herself. She felt weird wearing new clothes, but since Kura was a girl, it would be alright. As they walked outside, she was aware that it would be the last time that she would be seeing her house and her plants. She knew that she needed to go one last time to her Granny's grave. When she realized that it would be the last time she would speak to her Granny, Nina almost started to cry, but she was able to control herself. And yet, Kurapika noticed her lack of motion.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with a slight tone of concern in his voice.

"Um, n-nothing, really." Nina stuttered. "There is just somewhere I need to go before we leave. Would you mind to just wait here for a moment?"

"I don't mind." He said, sitting on the second last step of her porch. "You can go, Nina. I will be right here." He nodded to her.

"Thank you." Nina bowed her head and proceeded to the back of her cottage.

Once the girl was where she intended, her legs froze. This was it. She was really leaving this time. This would be the last time she would speak to her Granny. Holding on to these thoughts, Nina walked to the small grave. There were several patches of flowers around it, all of them grown by her. She knew that the elder lady had loved her plants, so she made sure to grow lots of them close to her. With the caring lady on her mind, Nina began praying with both her hands at her chest.

"The sun upon my face, the grass beneath my feet. My skin cleansed by the water of a lake. My spirit soars among the clouds, my path illuminated by the moon and stars. I honor my ancestors for bringing me to this place, and for allowing me to find this lady, who took care of me when nobody else could. After she nursed me, I was able to stand on my feet once more, so I am evermore thankful to her, who has left to the Heavens. I will be able to continue to live my destiny thanks to her, and for that I will always pray my gratitude. On the Scarlet Eyes, I swear this."

Nina remained silent for a few moments before she returned to where Kurapika was. She wanted to show her gratitude to her Granny as more as possible. If it wasn't for her, Nina would certainly be dead somewhere in the forest. She continued silent even as she came back. She wanted to start walking, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to walk any further, and Kurapika noticed this.

"What's the matter, Nina?" he asked.

"Um, I never... left, so I... I don't know what to do." She seemed nervous as she looked back at him.

Kurapika watched as she looked down again, with somewhat a defeated expression. It was obvious that she hadn't strayed far from the cottage. He didn't know how to help her in this matter, so he did the only thing he could do. He stood back up and stepped closer to her. He then calmly held both her shoulders. As she looked at him once more, his expression showed concern, a bit of care, and determination.

"I'm sure you'll be fine." He said. "I'll be with you, so if you need anything, I'll be there."

"... Okay. Thank you." She nodded her head with a more confident smile after one last moment of silence.

With another nod, the two took off, leaving the wooden cottage behind.

**End of chapter 4**


	6. Chapter 5: Train

**Chapter 5 – Train**

"Ah, Kura, look! It's so pretty!" Nina pointed to the current landscape.

"Yes, it is."

Kurapika shifted his gaze from his book to the window. Most of the landscapes in the Lukso Province were open green plains; filled with fields of farmers and such. There were also forests with lakes and cascades where one could bathe. It was rather nice for those who didn't leave the house much, so it was a dream come true for Nina, who lived in that forest all her life. The two had boarded a train, heading for Chibama Station, but he chose to exit the train with Nina a few stops before the Station. From there, they would be walking for the airport. He was well aware that they could take the bus to save time, but he wanted Nina to see things more calmly, so he decided to do that path by foot. The girl had been a little apprehensive about boarding the train, but he had been able to convince her to do it. He had bought them first-class tickets, something unusual for him, since he usually traveled in coach. He was sure that if they were in coach, someone else might join their carriage, and then Nina might panic if it got too crowed. Someone who lived in a carefree environment their entire life was most likely to panic in a closed space. So, he played it safe and chose to get a high-class cabin so that they could have enough space and be alone. Like that, it was less likely for Nina to get a panic stroke. As he looked, she seemed happy enough, staring out the window. She had asked him already several questions about the area and little things she'd seen so far. He was more than happy to answer her doubts. For the moment, she was gazing out to the white clouds up in the blue sky and he was reading one of his books.

"Ne, ne, Kura." The girl tried to get his attention again.

"_Still with the girly nickname…"_ he told himself with a mental shrug. "Yes, Nina?" his eyes met hers with a small smile.

"How does this train work? Is someone driving it? How does it get so fast?" she bombarded him with more questions and a cheery, curious smile.

Kurapika replied to each and every question Nina posed him. Even after he was finished, she asked him about the world they lived in. It wasn't long before she got tired. He suggested that she took a nap over the seats. When she finally settled, her body almost blend with the seat and she commented that it was too soft and that she couldn't move well. Kurapika gave her a small laugh, and told her about the time that he had traveled for the first time in a first-class cabin with Gon and Leorio. He stated that she had said the exact same thing that Gon spoke. When Nina asked about them, Kurapika gave a small speech explaining who Gon, Killua and Leorio were. Gon and Killua being the inseparable best friends who explored everywhere they went and Leorio being the one he had ended up getting along with the best from the group, even though they two hated each other at first. When she asked him why he wasn't traveling with them, the blonde replied that there were times that each one had to take their own way.

"Wow, those friends of yours sound really nice. I wonder if I'll ever meet friends like that too…" She said before she fell asleep under the careful watch of Kurapika.

**-SV-**

Nighttime had just fallen. Kurapika placed his red bookmarker where he was reading; so that he could start the next time he'd pick it up. He placed the book inside his bag and looked towards the outside of the window. The night had just crept in, but it wasn't totally jet black yet. The ending of the horizon was still dark-blue. He liked the sight. It was one of the few things in his life that he still liked to watch. As he was looking, he picked up a gentle breathing and looked across the coffee table place between his seat and Nina's. She had been sleeping for about seven hours. The train ride would last at least six more hours. As he looked around the cabin, his eyes fell on the sleeping girl. He wondered how she could adapt so well to the new environment, not that he doubted the coziness of her cottage, but he still wondered. After a moment, he did not know why, but he got up and walked towards her. Just a couple steps afterwards, he crouched down and watched her carefully. He noticed that her fringe was covering her eyes. Also, there were a few longer bangs of hair that had strayed close to her face, covering a bit of her left cheek and her mouth. Pulling his right hand, he dragged the longer hair back into its place. As he did so, he couldn't help but wonder how her hair could be so soft. It felt like he was touching the finest silk. He then realized that he was curious about her. Not in a romantic way, of course. He was just curious.

"Golden hair, just like the sun." he gently said, not too loud, as to not wake her up.

Next was her fringe. He tried tucking it behind her hear; but he failed, for the hair kept falling back into place. He decided to give up and just look at her for a moment more before standing up again. He then frowned slightly and looked outside, to the darkness of the night rising. This was no time, nor the place, to start thinking of anything other than his goals. Who cared if her hair was like the sun? Or had a silk-like touch? He turned to the window and took a calm breathe. He had to get his mind clear. Finding her was a good fortuned event, and that was it. Sure, he didn't mind to travel with her and teaching her some new things, but that was it. He would not involve himself with her any further than that. Now that he was back in track, he had to find his people's eyes and get revenge on the Ryodan. Those were his goals. Nothing else. As he was thinking this, he heard a shuffling noise. Looking by the window's reflection, he saw Nina shifting in her sleep. He frowned again before looking to the opposite side. Get revenge and find the eyes. Those were his goals. He could not go on and add any more ambitions in his life. He was sure that if he did, it would only mess things up for him. He couldn't help but feel curious, though. What was it like for her, living all alone in that forest? Did she get used to it at some time? Did she feel lonely? How did she develop her Nen skills? Wasn't there anyone with her at some point? Why did she never get any further than the village? Fear of the unknown? Sadness of leaving her house? Complacency of her surroundings? He took another breathe. He was thinking too much. Perhaps he was the one starting to get a panic stroke? It could be possible, because he was used to traveling alone. As he sat down, Kurapika looked at the outside one last time. Then, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep, but not entirely, so that he could watch his surroundings carefully.

**-SV-**

"Nina." Kurapika said, carefully nudging the girl's shoulder. "Nina, wake up. We're almost there." He said.

"Hm..?" the girl slowly opened her eyes. "What?" she asked, still half-asleep.

"We're almost at our stop." The blonde said. "We're walking the rest of the way to the airport."

"Ah, okay." She forced herself to sit up. "Why are we walking?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to see more of the world?" Kurapika asked. "There's something that I want to show you that you won't see anywhere else."

"Okay…" she rubbed her eyes and yawned softly.

_Next stop: Chiwasaki. Next stop: Chiwasaki._

"There, see? That's our stop. Let's get ready." He said, watching her get up and stretching her arms upwards.

As the two left the train, Nina watched it take off. She was amazed by how fast it was capable of going and how comfortable their trip had been. Those seats were really comfy, much more than her old bed was. As soon as her head fell against the pink seat, she'd automatically fell asleep. She didn't remember what she dreamed about, but it was one of the best naps she had taken in her life.

"Where are we going now, Kura?" she asked with a smile, turning towards the other blonde.

"There is a cascade not too far from here. I used to go there often with my parents when I was young. There is also a hotel close to it. They advertise the tourists to visit that cascade. We'll be staying there for the night." Kurapika explained as they began to walk.

"Sounds like fun." Nina smiled. "I love waterfalls."

The train stop wasn't that far from the hotel. It had taken them about ten minutes by foot. Nina looked around at everything that they would cross. Kurapika found it rather humorous of her. Even still, he refused to grow anymore thoughts on the matter. The lodge they were about to stay at was a four-star one. It had been a while since he had been there, quite a few years actually, but from the looks of it, it was still the same. The colors were slightly faded, but such was to be expected.

"Well, here we are." he said as they stopped a few steps before the main entry.

"Wow, it's so pretty!" Nina said with a bright smile. "I never stayed at a hotel like this. I wonder if I'll do something wrong."

"You'll be fine, don't worry about it. Let's go check-in." the blonde gave a chuckle.

Nina nodded her head and the two walked inside the hotel. The girl couldn't help but look around when they got to the large reception counter. It would be the first time she was spending the night at a different place, and a different bed. She was so used to sleeping in her bed back at the cottage. However, she was aware that sometimes things changed, and her life began changing the moment she met Kurapika. She noticed that the counter was cold; it was some kind of stone.

"Good evening. Welcome to Chiwasaki Hotel. How can I be of service to you this evening?" the receptionist welcomed them with a polite smile.

**End of chapter 5**


	7. Chapter 6: Insomnia

**Chapter 6 – Insomnia**

"Good evening. Do you have any free rooms?" Kurapika said, showing his Hunter License card.

"Ah, yes, I understand." The receptionist smiled and examined the card for a moment. "I confirm its authenticity. How long will you be staying with us?" he asked, looking at the two.

"Just for the night." The blonde stated.

The receptionist looked from him to Nina, who was currently reading a pamphlet about the cascade, then to the blonde again while trying to hide a smirk. Kurapika frowned slightly, understanding right away what the man was thinking about. He sighed for himself. Why must all men be like that and start thinking sick things about a couple? He surely knew he wasn't like that. In fact, he was much too tired to deal with the improper behavior of the other man. The receptionist could think whatever he wanted; Kurapika knew that he just wanted to get some real sleep.

"Very well, I see." the man behind the counter said. "One of our suites is currently available. It encloses two bedrooms, separated by a wooden door, with a large balcony. From the balcony, you can see the cascade." The man behind the reception explained. As he was going to say some more info about the suite, Kurapika interrupted him.

"It's good enough. We'll take it." the blonde said.

"Very well." The other man spoke. "I will have to ask you to sign here and here while I get your key."

Kurapika saw the check-in paper in front of him. As he signed his name, he could feel the man looking at Nina. Again, he frowned, thinking how unethical the man was being with his clients. He shook his head slightly, choosing to not care about it. It was not of his business what the man chose to look at, as long as he didn't try to do anything funny. Once the procedures were all done, the receptionist handed him a key and told him about the hotel's breakfast regimen and how he could go see the cascade because it was beautiful. Kurapika nodded his head to all and then walked to the elevator with Nina following him. There, he was able to take a small breathe. There were still a few things that his brain hadn't processed yet, but he was sure that in time, he would figure everything out clearly and rationally. He looked at his key. It read 323, so he clicked on the button with the number 3, equal to the third floor.

"He seemed nice." Nina commented, looking at her pamphlet with a rather cheery expression.

"If you say so." Again, he gave her a small smile. Clearly she hadn't seen the man gawking at her, but it was alright if she didn't.

Once inside the room, Kurapika realized how luxurious it actually was. Even for a four-star hotel, the room looked quite nice. The walls and ceiling were white and the curtains covering the large windows were a pastel yellow color. There was a table in the middle of the room. Both noticed that there was a bowl with some fruit over it, standard welcoming procedure to the suites. As Kurapika remained calm as they entered further into the room, Nina ran to the closest bed but stopped just before it. He noticed that she seemed to be examining it carefully.

"Wow, it's so big!" she exclaimed. "Do you often sleep in these kinds of beds, Kura?" she turned towards him.

"No, not really. I usually stay in lower-star hotels." He made a small smile. "I'll be staying in the other room on the other side of that door, so if you need anything, just let me know." He pointed towards the wooden door.

Nina nodded her head and they parted ways. After Kurapika closed the door, separating the two, the girl jumped into the bed. It was even softer than she had imagined. The bed was incredibly soft, very comfortable and strangely big. She was sure; she would sleep really well in that room. She shifted herself, so that she could face the ceiling, and grabbed one of the several white pillows that were at the head of the bed. She then sensed something and then smelled at the cushion. It had a fresh, floral, scent. It made her dig her face into it. So far, she was enjoying her stay quite a lot. She was glad she left the forest with Kura. Ah, that's right! She wondered if Kura's pillows smelled like that too. The girl got herself up and dashed towards the wooden door separating them while still holding her pillow. Since she assumed that Kura was a girl, she thought it would be alright to go in without knocking. How wrong she was.

"Ne, ne, Kura." Nina called as she opened the door and looked inside.

She froze in the same moment she did and dropped the pillow to the ground. Her face automatically became pink as Kurapika turned towards her, shirtless. She saw. All that time, she thought that Kurapika was a girl, but she was very wrong. She, no, **he**, was a boy. She hadn't been able to tell the difference at all. She felt incredibly silly with herself, but it only became worse when she remembered that she was wearing a piece of clothing that belonged to him. That only made it worse. She had been wearing a male set of clothes all that time. As she realized that, her face became red with embarrassment and Kurapika continued to stare at her with a curious expression. There was another thing that she noticed when he turned himself towards her. He had muscles. Not in that large, armoire sense, because he was rather slim himself, but she could tell that he must have practiced a lot before he returned to the village. She could also tell that he seemed to have been in a lot of fights before he met her. When she realized she was still staring at him, she forced her gaze downwards, to her feet. She tried to figure out what she should say, but nothing came to her mind.

"Is something wrong, Nina?"

"Ah, um, no, no. It's just…" she looked from the floor to him, then to the floor again. Her face just kept getting redder and redder. "I'm... You're…"

"I'm?" the male blonde tilted his head slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Ah, yes, yes. I'm totally fine!" she blurted out, stepping backwards, still not looking at him. "I-I-I'm perfectly fine. SorrytohavebotheredyouI'lljustgonowbye!" with that, she closed the door, separating the two of them again.

Kurapika continued to stare at the closed door for a few moments before he resumed his doings. That... Well, that was a weird moment. It was the first time he had seen such a reaction from someone. Nina was certainly an interesting person. Well, either way, now he was sure that the girl was aware that he was a male. The look on her face had been rather intriguing. It looked like she had never seen a shirtless man before. Could his assumptions be true? Nonetheless, he sighed, realizing he was too tired to deal with his personal curiosity spikes. As he went to sleep, he couldn't help but remember for just a second how captivating the girl's blushed and distressed looks had been. How amusing it had been.

**-SV-**

Kurapika woke up to the sound of his own sighs. He looked to the clock on his nightstand and noticed that it was only two in the morning, almost three. This was strange. He hadn't had the same dream he always had before. There were neither good dreams, nor bad either. He guessed it was probably because he already found what he was in need. He did wonder how he was going to find any hints on where to find the eyes. He would head to that Zenji's place. If the Capone really had any pair in his possession, then he might have some locations for more. Yes, he would do that tomorrow. For now, he would get some sleep. He was aware that to reach that man's mansion, they would need to take, at least, one train ride and a bus one. Before he could turn to try to get some rest once more, his senses caught another thing, low toned, faint whimpers. He noticed that they came from the other side of the door. It could only be Nina. Maybe she was having a nightmare. He didn't know how to deal with that kind of situation, so he remained at a halt. When the girl's whimpers didn't stop, he stood up from his bed and walked to the door separating the two of them. He wondered what he was doing when he opened it, but all his thoughts stopped when he looked at her. Basking under the moonlight that peeked from one of the uncovered windows; her back was facing the ceiling and everything else in that room. Even in the darkness, he noticed some stirring from the girl's side, so he moved closer. As he did, her back was becoming more and more open to his eyes. When he reached the bedside, he saw something that made his eyes widen. Nina was wearing a simple white shirt, but it wasn't what fazed him. What made him not divert his eyes from her was the almost horizontal thick scar that filled most of the area of her upper back. He didn't know what to say, or what to do. How had she got that scar? Was it during a bandit's strike? Was it a birthmark? How? Why? As he asked himself the questions over and over, the girl whimpered again, making him snap back into reality. She was having a nightmare. He had to wake her up.

"Nina, wake up." Kurapika called, giving her a gentle nudge on her shoulder.

"Hm.. No…" she said back, but it seemed like she was talking to her dream.

"Nina." He shook her again.

"Hm.. what..?" she turned her torso to the side, still half awake. "Is it time to go already..?"

"No, it isn't. Nina, I believe you were having a nightmare."

"Oh." She seemed to come back to her senses slowly. "I-I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked with a meek tone of voice.

"No, you didn't. I have insomnia issues, and then I heard something, so I came to check on you." He replied calmly.

"Oh, good." She sat herself, so that she was facing him.

"But, Nina, that scar…" he breathed, recalling what he had seen before.

"Ah, you saw it..?" the girl looked to the opposite side as she held her right shoulder. She seemed quite dispirited.

"I didn't mean to stare. I apologize, but it intrigued me quite a bit." Kurapika explained. What a lousy excuse. It wasn't just her scar. It was all of her that was intriguing to him.

"Oh, that's okay." The girl looked to the side. "Granny used to check up on me too because I'd often sleepwalk out of the house and into the forest."

"I see. It must have been tough." He looked at her with concern in his eyes, but she did not see it.

"Ah, like I said, it's fine. Granny was always there for me, so I was alright." She continued to look to the side, as if she was remembering her times with her Granny.

"Nina, if you don't mind replying, I would like to ask you something. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." He spoke.

"What is it?" she looked at him, but the concern from his side was gone.

"On that day… What happened, really?" curiosity and anxiousness filled his deep blue eyes.

"Oh. _That_ day." Nina paused, before beginning. "I thought that it was just another regular day back at the village, but, I was very wrong."

**-Flashback-**

_A young girl wakes from her sleep to notice that something is wrong. The temperature is much too hot for the season and her parents are not at home as they should be. In the same minute, she starts to get worried and dashes to the outside. As soon as she opens the door, a hot stream of wind blew in directly at her. She lets go of the door and holds her hands over her mouth as her expression changed into a fearful one. Everything was on fire. All she was capable of seeing was burning up. She tried to run outside, to see what was wrong, but her legs didn't comply. There was nobody outside, but she could listen to the people's screams of pain and agony as the houses burned. She didn't have to see anything to listen to them. The screams were unbearable to her ears. She wanted to scream, to call out for her parents, but her brain froze. The girl didn't notice the tears running down her cheeks as her hands covered her nose and mouth. As she remained like that, the young girl missed the fire spreading to her own house. Red filled her field of vision as she noticed something. It was a woman. From what she knew, she looked like a ninja. She didn't seem to hold no good expression in her face, in fact, everything about the woman screamed danger. Nina did not know her. This woman's clothes were much different from the ones from her clan. Her brain still didn't work as the fire spread inside her house. She only took a few steps backwards, further inside the house so that the woman would not see her. She watched as the woman passed by the doorway, not even bothering to look inside. She seemed quite calm, so it could only mean that she had something to do with the spreading fire. Nina tried to speak, but as she did, the house's joints began snapping. The girl panicked as the first blocked her way to the outside. Then, all motions stopped for her as another roof joist feel on top of her, landing almost horizontally on the upper area of her back and pinning her against the ground. She tried to move, but she couldn't. It was hard to breathe under the heavy burning joint, but she knew she was having a panic stroke. She managed to look outside. The woman was no longer there, probably far away already. As trepidation began dawning on Nina, she knew it. This was it. She was going to die there, under her house's roof joist. At some point, Nina didn't know if she was crying because of the comprehension that she was going to die utterly alone, without seeing her parents' faces one last time, or because of the pain she was feeling in her back. She was scared and as the fire kept burning deeply into her back, she wondered if it would take long until she went away. As her vision became blurry due to tears and fear, she heard something. Someone had been able to enter the house. She couldn't tell if they were good or bad, male or female, but she hoped that they were good and that they came to help her out of that Hell._

"_Hang on, kid. You're going to be fine. I'll get you out of here." The voice spoke._

"_.. Mo... ther… Fa... ther…" she managed to say._

"_I'm sorry, kid. I don't know if they made it or not." the voice said again as the joist was pulled away from the girl._

_She could that tell she was being carried out of her house. Even outside, the fire was still deafening vast and the warm temperature seemed as if she was still under the burning wood. She couldn't listen to much, only people screaming, the fire burning, fighting sounds, and her own, growing weak, breaths. At some point, all those sounds seemed to have calmed down, even though she could still hear. From what she could listen, she was in the middle of a forest. It looked like it was still undamaged by the fire. The air around her was cooler, and the sounds of the leaves and bushes were drastically diverse from the fire; screams and cracking wood._

"_... Wh... Where...?" she managed to mumble out._

"_Don't worry, kid. I'm taking you to somewhere safe." the voice said as she was carried._

_The last thing that Nina could remember before blacking out was the clear opening. She looked to the side, only to see the scarlet color of the growing fire dimming out. The voices seemed to stop too. After a few moments, Nina could listen to a different voice, instead of the screams. She did not know who else was talking, so she tried looking. It hurt, but she managed. The first thing she saw was a wooden cottage. She did not know the place, but it screamed warmth to her. Somehow she felt slightly calmer just by watching the house. Then, she tried to find the source of the new voice and saw the old lady talking to the person who was carrying her. She tried to say something, to speak up, but she was only able to mew weakly. As the old lady looked towards her in surprise, the child was not able to see her future caretaker's face because her world turned black in the following moments._

**-End Flashback-**

"I…" Kurapika paused, not completely sure of what he should say. "I never knew that it had been that brutal. I had imagined how our brethren had suffered, but I never knew. It must have been tough to endure all that on your own."

"At some point, I lost consciousness and when I woke up, I was lying in a bed and Granny was by my side." Nina explained. "She took care of my burns and after a few weeks, told me that there were no survivors at the grounds. Still, I needed to be sure."

Kurapika watched as Nina's eyes turned watery. She tried to hide it, by rubbing her eyes a few times, but it failed. He could clearly see that she was holding herself as best as she could to not cry. He felt sorry for her, and even angrier at the Spiders. They had caused so much pain and suffering to their Clan, and had even injured Nina during the process. He was thankful to that person who had been able to save her.

"Nina…" he tried to speak, but he realized he didn't know what to say.

"It was horrible." Unaware of it, she began crying silently. "I thought I might be able to find something, but there was nothing. Everyone was… even the person who had carried me to Granny's house. Everything had been burnt down to ashes. There was no trace of anyone anymore. I felt so helpless and small."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." He said truthfully as he sat beside her. "If I knew that you were out there, I definitely would have gone to find you."

Kurapika gasped slightly when she clung to him. The whole girl misunderstanding was long gone, and he could see that this was her real self. Under the curious, cheerful shell that Nina had put up, there was a sensitive and lonely girl who had spent too much time alone. He just wasn't expecting her to grab onto him for support. He didn't know how to react to such a situation, so his arms were kept low next to his sides. He wasn't even in a position where he could discretely ask Leorio for some advice. His mind began to fill with several rational options for the scene, but he was also aware that they were all rather dumb and quite useless at the moment. As he tried to figure out what to say, she continued to speak.

"When Granny was still alive, we had lots of fun, but then she passed away, and I got so alone." Nina bawled into Kurapika's chest as her sobs became harder to control. "I was so lonely for all those years. I just wanted to leave and try to find more people, but every time I did it, I got scared and ran back home!"

"Nina…"

It was then that he knew, just like crystal water. There was nothing he could say to make her feel better. There were no words that could compensate for the years neither of loneliness, nor for the hard times Nina must have been through. There were no actions that could ease her worries; that could cleanse her fears away. The only thing he could actually do was to comfort her and keep her safe for as long as he could. As he realized there was nothing else he could do, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her back. He noticed that as soon as he held her, she cuddled closer to him. He wasn't sure if his face grew warm because of the AC or because of something else. Far as he knew, the AC wasn't on, so it had to be something else. Sickness? That seemed like a rational idea, and the most adequate option at the moment. His rage towards the Spiders often made him forget to eat properly, so it should be something along those lines.

".. So warm…" Nina said, after a moment, with a calmer tone of voice. ".. Kurapika, you're warm…" she said, leaning her head gently against the crook of his neck and planting her, slightly trembling, palms over his chest.

There were wet marks on the girl's cheeks, but she wasn't crying anymore, which made Kurapika sigh in relief. Ah, she had called him by his name, and not 'Kura'. That was also a relief. As he peeked down at her, he noticed that she seemed to calm down at a good pace. Maybe all she needed was some company and a friendly shoulder. He assumed that, aside her Granny, Nina didn't have anyone else to rely on. It must have been tough for her, being all alone. He would try to figure out something to compensate for all that time. As she shifted slightly to get herself more comfortable in his arms, Kurapika remained stiff still. He could tell that his face still grew warm, but he still could not fathom why it was happening to him. She seemed to be at a normal temperature herself, so—wait. What was that smell? It seemed to be coming from her. Kurapika calmly leant his head to the side and downwards, resting his right cheek over the girl's forehead, where her fringe was, and inhaled quietly. After a few seconds, it came to him. Flora? He sniffed again discretely. Yes, that was it. Her hair smelled like fresh, saccharine flowers. It was such a gentle, soft smell that almost made him sniff again. And then, just like that, all motions stopped for him when he shivered slightly after feeling her soft and warm breath against his neck.

It couldn't be anything else, could it?

**End of chapter 6**


	8. Chapter 7: The Capone's Mansion

**Chapter 7 – The Capone's Mansion**

"_Nina, come see this. That orchid over there, it's a little different from the other ones. Can you see it?" an old lady pointed with a smile towards a flower in the middle of one of the several patches in the garden._

"_Ah, yes. It's darker than the others." A young Nina noticed, crouching down to see the said flower up closer._

"_And if you look closer, you'll see that the same orchid is prettier than all others, and that is why the other orchids lean away from it."_

"_Oh, that's right, Granny. I see it. Why is it like that?" Nina nodded, still watching the flower._

"_That's because it's that time of the year."_

"_That time of the year?" Nina asked._

"_Yes, my dear." The elder let out a small laugh. "It is spring, is it not?"_

"_Hm." Nina mumbled, nodding her head._

"_During this time of the year, in every patch of orchids, there is one that stands out the most. When the winds come, the flower's pollen will fly away, to make new flowers grow on a field somewhere else."_

"_That sounds nice." Nina smiled, imagining growing orchids in a bright green field._

"_That flower is just like you, child." The elder lady spoke. "There will be a day that you will find someone who will renovate you; someone that eventually will become the dearest person to you."_

"_Eh?" the youngster looked up._

"_There is somewhere you will need to go in order to find that person."_

"_What are you talking about, Granny?" the child asked, getting up again and grabbing the elder's right hand._

"_Ah, that is something you will find out on your own someday, my dear." The older lady giggled softly towards Nina._

"_I don't understand what you're saying, Granny." Nina scratched her right cheek, with a confused expression._

"_Oh, that's alright, sweetie. You will figure it out by yourself with time. Don't worry about anything." The old lady smiled warmly as she patted the child's head gently. "Now, let's go make some herbal tea, shall we?"_

"_Yay~! Granny's tea is the best~!" Nina's cheerfulness returned to her small face as the two returned to the wooden cottage with smiles on their faces._

"It's spring again." Nina said, suddenly, looking through the train's window.

"Yes, indeed, it is." Kurapika nodded, looking at his book notes.

"Time sure flies. Granny's orchids should have bloomed by now." The girl mumbled.

"What was that, Nina?" Kurapika looked towards her.

"Ah, n-nothing, nothing." Nina waved her hands before her. "Don't mind me." She gave him a slightly nervous chuckle, before looking down at the light-blue diary on her lap. _"Someone that will become precious to me." _Nina wondered to herself as she opened her diary and began writing. _"I wonder who it could be."_ She peered at Kurapika reading. _"Would Kura help me find that person?" _she returned to her writing. She didn't say anything else during the rest of the train ride.

**-SV-**

"How long are we going to stay in this town, Kura?" Nina asked, as the two walked through the township.

"Not too long, I think, probably until tomorrow or so." Kurapika replied, taking a last look on his note book before returning it to his handbag. He had somewhat became used to her calling him 'Kura'. Somewhat a girly nickname, but he found it easy to ignore. "First, we should find a hotel and check-in."

As he spoke, Nina looked down at the ground. As more as she tried to pay attention to what he was saying to her about what they needed to do, the more her mind was on the flowers she had left behind, back at the cottage in the forest. She couldn't help it. She knew it didn't rain as often as it should on that area, so she was sure that most of the plants must have already died by then. She felt a little sad to think about it, but she knew she had to leave. Traveling with Kurapika was fun, because he taught her every kind of things. Nina found out she liked to learn, and he was a very good teacher. He was patient and easy to talk with. When she didn't understand something, he didn't mind to repeat himself over and over, until she got everything. Nina liked that about him. So far, he seemed to be a very good friend to her. Another thing that was on her mind was her Granny's words. She wrote all about them on her diary, along with her thoughts, but she still didn't comprehend. Nina was already seventeen, almost eighteen, and she thought she would be able to understand what those words meant by now, but she still didn't. It made her both confused and frustrated, because the more she thought about it, the less she understood.

**-SV-**

Nighttime had fallen. With their business done in the town, the two had settled in a hotel. The room was pretty much the same, except for the colors in the walls. This room had pale yellow tones and there was no wall to separate them this time. Apparently there were no rooms like that. Nina became quite embarrassed about having to sleep in the same room as him, so, to help ease the situation; Kurapika somehow managed to hang a bed sheet between their beds, to give Nina some privacy, and to him as well. After they had consumed their dinners, each one was in their respective bed.

"I'm sorry that this room wasn't like the previous one, Nina." Kurapika apologized truthfully from the other side of the sheet.

"O-Oh, that's fine, really." Nina seemed to stutter. "I understand that hotels are not the same. I-It's fine."

Kurapika nodded his head with an 'Hm' sound. He made sure not to bother the girl's privacy, and he meant to do it, but he couldn't help but listen to a sigh from the other side of the sheet, followed by another. At first, he did nothing, wondering for a moment if she was sad. Far as he recalled, she seemed chipper enough during the day and through dinner. If there was something bothering her, she was able to hide it quite well. After he heard another sigh after a few moments, he had to say something.

"Um, Nina; is everything alright?" he held himself to not push the bed sheet to the side to see her out of concern.

"Ah, no... I-I mean, yes. Everything's fine." Her voice didn't convince him at all.

"You know, if there's anything bothering you, you can talk to me." He insisted. "If I can help with anything, just let me know."

". . ."

When she didn't reply to him after a moment, he grabbed the side of the sheet and pulled a bit. When he saw that she didn't look chipper at all, he pulled more. He sat towards her and she still didn't look at him, nor said anything. He became both concerned and curious. Concerned about her might have gotten sick with something from their dinner; which consequently might have made her incapacitated from speaking now. Curious to what she might be thinking about, because her eyes held a strange pensive tone that almost made him forget to speak again.

"Nina, what's wrong? You're acting somewhat strange." He commented.

"I've been thinking, Kurapika." She replied.

"Eh?" he was taken back with the sudden change of tone from the girl's part.

"I don't seem to understand it. Why… Why did our brethren have to suffer so much?" Nina sighed dejectedly before finally replying with a sad tone. "We never made any wrongdoings towards those people that attacked us back then…" she looked down at her knees.

"Well, how can I put it easily?" Kurapika wasn't sure how he could put it out for her to understand, when himself was still trying to understand some parts of it. "Some people, as more foolish as they can be, became quite fascinated with our Clan's Scarlet Eyes, so…"

"How can people kill so much, the way they do, without feeling any sense of remorse afterwards?" Nina asked, shifting her gaze towards the window that allowed her to look at the outside. "Tell me, Kurapika." She added, still with the same sad tone.

Kurapika looked back at her with a small surprised expression. For one, she had called him by his name. He noted that when she was serious about something, she called him by his actual name. Secondly, what she had just asked him was the same that he himself had questioned Uvogin before their battle began. He could understand the others' artistic point of view, but he also viewed his own point of view, and Nina's. His Clan was made of innocent people. Even if with a different type of eyes, they were regular people. Nobody has the right to end any life, because every existence has a meaning and a purpose. Far as he knew, their Clan had never done anything wrong towards anyone. And yet, they had been executed like they were some kind of plague. He clearly understood Nina's point of view, which was the same as his. Kurapika felt frustrated when he thought that he couldn't do anything to prevent the attack in any way. Now, on his journey, he was grateful because his ancestors had placed Nina, another survivor, on his path. He tried to be positive and rational about the whole situation, and think that they could be able to find all the lost eyes and return them to their rightful place, but there were times that even he felt dispirited, the way Nina seemed to be feeling.

"I…" he tried to speak, but he was out of words.

"Our eyes…" she began, looking towards their reflections on the window. "… They're special, aren't they?"

"Yes, very." He ended up nodding his head and looking towards their reflection as well. It was the only thing he could say to her at the moment.

"Then, was that why those people went after our Clan?" Nina suddenly turned towards him. "Because we have a different kind of eyes?" she asked.

"Yes, but-" he couldn't finish his sentence.

"But we're just people, like they are." She interrupted him. "We cry; we smile; we laugh; we bleed; just like them. Why did those people kill everyone without any sense of guilt?"

Kurapika continued to look at Nina as she asked why countless times. He didn't know how to answer her. He really didn't. He would like to have a rational answer to her at the tip of his tongue, but he didn't. The reason that drives people to kill others without feeling anything afterwards, was something that escaped his coherent mind. He didn't want to see her cry, so he did the only thing he could do at the moment. To try to calm Nina, Kurapika got up from his bed and took two steps closer to her. When he noticed that she didn't seem to react to his proximity, he leant slightly forward and wrapped his arms around her, placing his right arm around her back and his left hand gently holding the back of her head. Then, he would say the only thing he could manage at the moment.

"I don't know, Nina." He said, honestly and truthfully.

"Why are there people so mean in this world?"

"I don't know."

"Why can't we just be happy like everybody else is?"

"I don't have those answers right now, Nina, but I am trying to find out." He pulled back slightly to look at her in the eyes. "I promise you that as soon as I know, I will tell you."

"You promise?" she asked with a dismal tone of voice.

"Yes." He nodded his head, pausing for a moment. He then noticed that she was shivering. "You are too nervous, Nina. I'm going to get you some tea to calm you."

"N-No, you don't have to." She said, nervous, looking to the opposite side of him. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"It's no trouble at all." He retracted two steps and made a small smile towards her. "Wait a moment. I will be right back."

Upon listening to the girl's defeated sigh, he walked towards the door. Before he left, he looked back at Nina again and noticed the girl looking towards the window again. He could tell that she was feeling down. She wanted answers, just like he did. If he had them, he could happily give them to her on a silver platter, but he hadn't, and there was nothing he could do about it. For now, the only thing he could do was to calm her down for the time being, so he would bring her tea, something he was sure she liked. With that thought in his mind, Kurapika walked out of the room. But what he didn't notice was where the girl was gazing at as he left. After the door closed, Nina looked down for a moment, then shifting her eyes to the door. Then, she sighed once more and held her white, fluffy, pillow against her face, as if to shade herself from the world. She leant down on the bed and about five seconds afterwards, a mild, weak, sob could be heard.

**-SV-**

"Good evening, Sir." The barman greeted politely. "Are you enjoying your stay with us? What can I get you?"

"Good evening. It has been comfortable so far, thank you." Kurapika replied just as politely, before continuing. "I would like to bring some herbal tea upstairs to my colleague. She's not feeling too well."

"Right away, Sir." The barman began moving. "It will take but a minute."

Kurapika nodded his head and the barman went inside the bar. As he waited, the young male looked around. There weren't that many guests up at that hour; just a couple having a glass of red wine and a group of men not too far from him talking. As he was quiet, he was able to listen to what they were talking about because, truth being told, they weren't being exactly careful with the volume of their voices.

"Hey, did ya hear the news? Looks like them boss Zenji got himself some new pair of them freaky red eyes." One says with a strange accent.

Kurapika's sensors caught those last words. Red eyes? That could only be the Scarlet Eyes. There were no other eyes or items alike, with such a color, so it could only be that. He remained still to try to listen to some more, but the men didn't say anything else that could be useful to him. He almost cursed between his teeth, but then he heard the man saying he needed to use the 'can'. At first, Kurapika stayed put until he got into the restroom. After a few moments, he discreetly followed him. Once inside, he saw the other one washing his hands. He swiftly walked and stopped behind the man, who was looking down at the rather large marble sink. When the adult looked up again, he caught Kurapika's intense serious stare looking directly towards him.

"H-Hei, little dude. Ya know, ya shouldn't sneak up on someone like that." The man turned around while drying his hands with a small hot towel. "Ya coulds get hurt someday, ya know?" he asked with what seemed to be a menacing tone of voice.

The next thing the man saw was the ominous sound of Kurapika's Dowsing Chain's creeping up. He dropped the towel to the ground as the blonde's chain promptly wrapped around his neck, and leaned back, as if wanting to walk backwards, but couldn't because of the sink behind him. The scowl in the man's expression changed into a rather scared air as Kurapika began speaking with his cold tone of voice.

"Where is your boss's current residence?" the blonde asked, all seriousness in him.

"Wha, mah boss Zenji?" the man asked. "I can't tell ya somethin' like that, man. I'd be-" the man tried to escape somehow with talking.

"Where?" the blonde asked again, tightening slightly the chain.

Kurapika's serious expression only became worse as his eyes turned Scarlet at his will. Maybe if he looked more intimidating, the man would give in and tell him what he wanted to know. It turned out to be exactly how he had planned. The chain's sound close to the man's neck made him crack rather easily. Kurapika memorized the address and made sure to tell the man that if it was a wrong one, he would chase after him, but the adult had become too terrified to even try lying. Kurapika returned to the bar as calm as he had walked in before, and just a few seconds after, the barman returned with the tea for Nina. Perfect timing. As Kurapika returned with a small pleased expression on his face, he crossed ways with the other man. They didn't speak any kind of words, but the blonde was sure that he wouldn't bother him anytime soon.

**-SV-**

"I'm back, Nina." Kurapika said, closing the door behind him.

"Ah, welcome back." Nina greeted him as she sat towards him on her bed. "You shouldn't have gone get me tea. I'm feeling fine, really." She said as he walked up to her. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"Like I said before, Nina, it is no trouble at all." He said, handing her the tea. "If you need anything, I'm more than happy to assist you." He added with his small polite smile.

"Well, thank you, Kura." She said, sniffling close to the teacup. "Hm, this smells nice." She blew a little and then took a sip.

Kurapika watched her for a moment. He allowed her to have a few sips to make sure she was calmer before he would tell her the news. He calmly sat down on his own bed, across from her. After a minute or two, when he was sure she was better, he began speaking.

"Nina, there is something I need to tell you." He said.

"What is it, Kura?" she looked towards him.

"We will be going somewhere tomorrow." He affirmed.

"Where is that?" she asked between a sip.

"I believe I might have found a clue about the first pair of Eyes."

Nina stopped moving for a few seconds. She looked down at her tea and blinked calmly. Then, she shifted her eyes upwards and looked at him. A clue? What kind of clue? So soon? She felt her heart almost jumping with the news. She took another sip to ease her nerves and tried to sound calm and collected as she spoke.

"Are you sure of what you're saying? Was the source reliable?" she asked.

"It was rather consistent, yes, but we are never sure when it comes to this, so that is why we are going to do a little recon before entering the Capone's mansion."

"Capone?" Nina asked with a concerned tone of voice. "Then, does that mean we'll have to break in into someone's house?"

"Well, yes, I suppose it's something like that." He scratched the back of his neck.

"But, isn't it dangerous?" Nina continued with an alarmed tone of voice as she held her teacup with a tighter grip.

"If it appears to be too dangerous, you will stay here at the hotel and wait for me." He spoke.

"But, Kura-"

"It's better that way." He interrupted. "It would be unfortunate if you got hurt."

"I don't feel very comfortable with this, Kura. There is a little voice in the back of my mind that tells me that something won't go right." Nina commented with a rather concerned tone of voice.

"Don't worry, Nina." Kurapika said with a small smile, as he got up and grabbed the hanged bed sheet. "I believe this recon will go rather smoothly, otherwise I will return here right away. I'm sure you must be tired by now. Let's go to sleep, shall we?" he asked, starting to pull the sheet.

"If you say so… Good night, then, Kura." the female had no choice, but to turn in to sleep as well, as he managed to separate the two. _"I have a bad feeling about this…" _The girl said to herself as she closed her eyes. She knew she wasn't going to sleep well that night.

**-SV-**

In the morning that followed up, after breakfast, as Kurapika looked at Nina, he noticed that she didn't seem to have gotten much sleep. Her expression was slightly grave and she kept sighing every other minute. Well, he hadn't slept that much either. With the previous night's events in both their minds, it would only be natural if none of them had caught a great deal of sleep. As they walked on an outside street towards the address Kurapika had obtained the previous night, he could see that Nina seemed as if she was bothered by something. It was mostly likely because their current plans didn't seem to be safe in her eyes. Unsure whether he should ask about it or not; Kurapika swallowed and carefully chose his next words.

"You seem anxious, Nina. Are you, by any chance, concerned?" he asked.

"Oh... Is it that obvious?" she shrugged and looked away from him.

So she was worried. Even though he understood her reasons, he couldn't fathom what the wrongdoing was. He was pretty capable of defending himself if an eminent threat of battle should arise. He was smart enough to elude just about any bodyguard without having to kill or shed a drop of blood. Maybe it was because Nina didn't know these details about him that she was afraid. He recalled for a moment that she lived most of her life in a calm way in the forest, so this rushed ways were probably making her uncomfortable. He didn't know how he could change things, so he continued with his support words.

"In any case, you shouldn't feel like that. I'm sure we will find the eyes, eventually." The blonde said with a firm nod. "Hopefully that Capone will have some answers for us." He added, looking across the street, towards a rather large-sized mansion. "Ah, it seems we're here."

The two stopped a few meters before the main gates. Kurapika positioned himself before Nina, so that it would seem that he was talking with her, when in fact he was examining the gates. As he analyzed the situation, he saw the two bodyguards up front, and a few more in the inside garden. He saw four doing some rounds, but he was sure that there would be at least five more on that area alone. There were also dogs, four Rottweiler breed, it seemed. The outer garden was wide, and filled with several kinds of bushes and trees, so he was sure he could pass that stage easily enough. Once inside the Mansion, his Dowsing Chain would do the rest.

"Kura, this seems dangerous." Nina said with a distressed tone of voice, as she peered discreetly over to the mansion as well for a moment. "I mean, look at all that security. I know you're strong, but what if something bad happens while you're in there? I would never know because I'll probably be in that hotel waiting." She said as she held her closed fists against her chest.

"Don't worry." Kurapika said, resting his palms over her shoulders. "I can assure you that everything will be fine." He said with the same firm tone of voice as he looked directly into her eyes.

"… You promise?" Nina asked him after a moment. "I mean, look at all those-" she began, shifting her gaze downwards.

"I promise you." He interrupted her as he tightened slightly his hold. "You can sleep soundless tonight. You have my word. I will be fine."

Nina looked back towards him again for a moment. He was serious about the plan, and there was nothing she could do, or say, that would make him change his mind about it. While that, he released his hold and turned his back to her. He then said something about them having to return to the hotel because they had stayed in the same place for too long. Nina nodded her head and followed him as he began walking again and didn't say anything else.

"Why are you so…?" she said with a low, meek, tone of voice.

Nina didn't finish her question. Well, how could she, when he was so serious about what he was going to do? Even if she wanted to say more, she knew that he wouldn't listen to her. As she looked at him walking, she realized something. She was worried about him. In her mind, he getting hurt pained at her heart. She realized she didn't want him to get hurt. She did wonder why she was feeling that way. He always treated her well and was kind towards her, even if she was too annoying to him at some times. After pondering it for a while, Nina decided it was because he was her only friend, and the sole person she knew. And because she cared for him as a friend, she didn't wish any harm ill towards him. Yes, that was it.

_Probably…_

**-SV-**

On that same day, at night, someone wandered in the dark streets alone. There isn't a person outside, probably because the cold early-spring weather doesn't allow such a thing. But, even with the chilly temperature, someone walks amidst the avenue. The figure has blue and white clothes and blonde hair. Its eyes are a bright scarlet color as he approaches a man in black suit close to a large iron gate. The other man takes a moment to realize that there is someone, smaller, standing right next to him. He tries to ask the blonde what is his business in the mansion, but the blonde does not answer.

No words were spoken. There is no need for such a trivial matter.

Soon after that, the man in black suit is laying on the ground, unmoving. Probably unconscious with the blow of the blonde's Dowsing Chain. In the meanwhile, another man who was also there became aware of the blonde, and tried to pull the gun in his belt, but failed. The blonde tilted his head to the side and waved his arm a bit, making his Chain clash at the man's right hand. He growls harshly and tries to strike with his good left fist. Another swing from the Chain and the second man in suit goes down as well. The blonde retracts his weapon, thinking for himself that it had been rather easy, as he retrieved the gate's keys from the second fallen man and opens a side door. He takes a look around before swiftly getting inside the mansion's property. He notices that there are no dogs, probably due to the cold weather. He spotted two bodyguards, so he quickly closed the gate and silently rushed to the side fauna. Crouching down close to a dark bush, he inspects his surroundings. After a moment, he sees a possible way through the garden, but soon discards the option because a third bodyguard appears. He remains in his spot and continues to glance. The two first suits seem to switch a few words before returning to their posts, while the third one walks towards him. The blonde crouches slightly more and gets his Chain ready once more. The suit stops just a few steps across him. The blonde looks as if he stops breathing, but is actually paying attention in case he needs to strike. The suit looks around for a second, before he turns around and walks away, towards somewhere else. The blonde relaxes slightly, but continues to look around. After a few minutes, he sees an opening, which he takes. A little afterwards, he is able to enter the large house safely. Once inside, he used his Chain to dodge everyone in the house as he searched for the boss without the need to attack anyone. When he finally arrived to what he thought was the Capone's office's doors, the blonde felt a presence that wasn't there just a moment before. He assumed a defensive stance and shifted his gaze slightly to the side as two men appeared, also wearing black suits.

"Look at what the cat dragged in…" The one behind Kurapika said, with a calm tone of voice, as he kept his hands coolly in his pockets.

"It's a little blonde mouse~." The one in front of him said, with a faster tone, as he tilted his head to the side with a sly smirk.

**End of Chapter 7**


End file.
